The Purple People
by 13dramaqueen13
Summary: Victoire is so excited when her daddy lets her come with him to work at Gringotts for a day.  But why won't he let her talk to a goblin?  Victoire decides to take matters into her own hands, they can't be that scary, right?


**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of its wonderful characters; they all belong to J.K. Rowling**

* * *

"What's that?" seven-year-old Victoire asked for what seemed like the billionth time. Bill was quickly regretting bringing her with him today.

Bill sighed, "Those are some ancient goblin-made armor."

Victoire's eyes widened as she took in the gold and the jewels decorating the magnificent armor. Her face broke into a smile.

"Daddy," she said in a bossy voice, "I want to meet a goblin."

"But you've seen plenty of them," Bill protested. He didn't think his goblin colleagues would take very kindly to a seven-year-old pestering them.

"But I want to _talk_ to one!" Victoire whined pulling her dad's hand in the opposite direction of where they were heading. Bill sighed again.

"No," he said with finality. "Now come on Victoire, Daddy has work to do."

Victoire pouted but continued on until they got to her father's office. Victoire had been looking forward to go to her daddy's work for ages, but now the she was here, her daddy didn't seem very excited anymore. But Victoire wasn't going to let it go to waste. She was going to have fun no matter what.

* * *

"Mr. Weasley, we have a situation." A large man Victoire had never seen before burst into the room, slightly out of breath. Bill looked up and sighed.

"Yes?" he said.

"One of the obstacles is malfunctioning, turning everyone who passes it purple," the man said. Victoire giggled. She thought it must be very funny to see a bunch of purple people walking around.

"I want to come!" she said, hopping up.

"No!" he father cried at the same time as the man. Bill turned to face her.

"Victoire," he said, "I have to take care of this. Will you please stay here and _not leave the room_?"

Victoire looked at her daddy and bit her lip. She really wanted to see those purple people, and maybe talk to a goblin too, but she nodded.

Bill sighed, "Thank you," he said getting up and kissing her on the forehead. He followed the other wizard out.

Victoire watched them close the door, leaving her alone in her father's office. She tried to follow her father's orders, she really did, but there just wasn't very much to do alone in an office. She got up and walked over to the door tentatively. Victoire was a rule follower; she did _not_ get in trouble. But it was just _so_ tempting. And her daddy didn't have to know. She would just slip out quickly and be back before her dad ever knew she was gone.

She smiled to herself, she could do it; she knew she could. She wasn't a wimp. She would prove that she was just as brave as Teddy. She imagined telling him about it—no, _bragging_ to him that she had snuck out of her dad's office in Gringotts, against orders. She grinned, and quietly pulled open the door.

She peered outside and took inventory of the vast hallway. Not a soul was in sight. She tiptoed into it and down to the great atrium. There it was, all of the stools, weights, tables, and _goblins._ Her mouth opened and she stared at them. She'd only seen a few of them in her life. They looked so peculiar with their long wrinkled fingers and their bald little heads.

"What are you staring at?" snapped one, coming up to her and making her eyes widen. Her face broke into a grin.

"You're a goblin," she said matter-of-factly.

"So?" the goblin snapped, getting offended. "I bet I know loads more than you wizards who think you're so high and mighty…"

The goblin went on and on complaining about wizards, but his rant was completely lost on Victoire. She just watched him in fascination, excited that she was talking to a goblin!

"Why do you keep staring?" the goblin snapped again, breaking out of his speech. Victoire just grinned.

"'Cause you're a goblin," she said, "I've never talked to one before."

The goblin huffed, and apparently was torn between looking offended and flattered. Victoire smiled at him.

"So what do you do?" she asked interestedly.

The goblin opened and closed its mouth several times, not quite knowing what to say. He had never been asked that before.

"I protect the sacred vaults of Gringotts, I go and do what no wizard can do!" he said proudly after a moment.

"Cool!" Victoire said. Again the goblin was taken aback, and he looked at this strange witch child.

"Do you work with my daddy?" Victoire asked the goblin.

"It is possible," the goblin said after a moment.

"'Cause my daddy is Bill Weasley, and he works with goblins!" Victoire said excitedly.

The goblin looked at her, still not quite sure what to make of this young girl.

"Do you know where the purple people are?" Victoire went on. The goblin gave her a questioning look.

"Some man came into my daddy's office saying that something was turning people purple," Victoire explained, "And I want to see!"

The goblin had indeed heard this, but did not have the faintest idea why this strange girl wanted to see the people inflicted by the malfunction.

Victoire looked at the goblin expectantly and the goblin said, "Why do you want to see these…'Purple People?'"

"'Cause they'll look cool!" Victoire said, giggling. "Purple is my favorite color."

The goblin again thought how strange this girl was, but decided that there was no harm in showing her. Her motioned for her to follow him, and she happily skipped behind.

Right at that moment a throng of people were coming out of a corridor, all with a strange purple tint to their skin.

"Ooh, look, they're purple!" Victoire said, jumping up and down to try and get a better view. The goblin smiled in amusement. The act felt foreign to him, the muscles felt unused; he couldn't remember the last time he smiled. Who knew that some bizarre young witch would cause that to change?

Of course, her excitement couldn't last too long, as at that moment a wizard stepped out of the throng, with quite normal looking skin; well, if by normal one meant not purple. It was actually a bit red tinted, to match the bright hair of the same color. He did not look happy, and was marching toward the goblin and Victoire with a look on anger on his face. He stopped just inches away from the young girl's face.

"What did I ask you to do, Victoire?" he asked, trying his best for a patient voice, though it was waning.

Victoire shrank away from her father. "To stay in your office," she whispered.

"Yes," said Bill, drawing in a breath, "And does this look like my office?"

Victoire shook her head, her eyes cast down. Her lower lip jutted out, and she looked like she would burst into tears any moment. The goblin felt a strange surge of compassion towards the girl that he could not explain. Maybe it was the fact that she was so young, so naïve to the prejudices that coated the wizard/goblin history. Maybe it was how excitable she was, how full of life, that he couldn't bear to see her so upset. Whatever it was, he took a step forward toward the wizard, and said, "Please, she was with me, she was in no danger."

Bill looked at the goblin, taken aback. He was not used to goblins being at all compassionate towards wizards and witches, and definitely not to ones they didn't have to be. He took a tentative step toward the goblin, "Thanks."

He offered his hand, and after a second, the goblin mimicked the action, and they shook. Bill smiled, "Thank you, Griphook."


End file.
